US and Iran trade retaliatory attacks on ships as conflict flares

On Saturday, the United States and Iran engaged in retaliatory attacks on ships, marking a fresh escalation in their conflict following a week of heightened tension. The United States claimed it had "permanently disabled" two oil tankers linked to Iran, with one of them near Kharg Island, and completely destroyed a third one in the Gulf of Oman.

Iran's state media confirmed the US strikes, asserting it had retaliated by attacking three US-affiliated vessels and three oil tankers traversing the Strait of Hormuz in an unauthorized manner. The situation has escalated after President Donald Trump downplayed the conflict as "small potatoes," with little apparent progress towards ending the six-month war.

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth tweeted that the US would "destroy (and sink) their oil tankers" if Iran targeted US ships. Before the American attack, two US warships had faced Iranian assaults, but no American troops were harmed. The US Central Command (Centcom) stated that the three Iranian oil tankers targeted were part of a multi-billion-dollar network funding the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its regional proxies.

Iran's state media reported no casualties from the US attack on the tanker near Kharg Island, with the crews being rescued. Iran's IRGC retaliated against six ships, three oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz and three other US-affiliated vessels in different locations, warning against unauthorized routes through the strait. Despite the attacks, Trump declared the Strait of Hormuz "open," and US military assistance has helped ships use a southern route around the strait.

The conflict resumed after a period of calm, with US President Donald Trump resuming attacks on Iranian targets, including in the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Jordan. Earlier, Trump dismissed claims by Iran about American strike casualties, but acknowledged the possibility of an investigation. The 60-day ceasefire between the two nations expired days ago, with no signs of a diplomatic resolution in sight.